


Shared Beds

by Kalloway



Category: Tales of the Abyss
Genre: M/M, Post-Game(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-10
Updated: 2016-01-10
Packaged: 2018-05-13 00:43:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5688019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalloway/pseuds/Kalloway
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Guy has been back in Malkuth for... almost a day. Jade will be back soon... And one of Emperor Peony's rappigs is... missing?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shared Beds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Moontyger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moontyger/gifts).



Guy was just placing one of the final tiny gears into his new project when there was a soft knock at the frame of his half-opened suite door. The main room was more workshop than living space, considering everything he'd been dragging in for the last few months, but nobody seemed to mind. Emperor Peony certainly didn't - he'd even jokingly mentioned giving Guy the suite as his own land... Of course, Guy wasn't even there often enough to consider any sort of land. If he had to pick a 'home' based on where he spent the most time, he was actually a resident of the Albiore IV. 

"Excuse me, ah, sir..."

Glancing back, Guy nodded to the maid lingering half out of sight. The maids and other female household staff had learned quickly, at least, that he still had his little quirks and, as probably the best servants in Malkuth, they didn't comment on anything - they simply compensated. 

He'd even talked them down from addressing him formally... mostly...

"What is it?" Guy questioned. "You can... come in, it's okay." 

The maid nodded and slipped in. "I apologize for disturbing your work," she said quickly and with a little bow. "Have you seen Jade?"

"Jade?" Guy was fairly sure Jade wasn't due back for another day or so. Unfortunately. 

He frowned. "I don't think--" And halfway through the sentence, Guy realized that 'Jade' meant the rappig Jade, because most everyone referred to Jade-the-person much more formally. 

"Er, no, I haven't. Did he escape again?" 

The maid nodded and Guy quietly tried to think of her name. 

"I don't know how he does it, either. But, ah, I know you're fond of His Highness' pets and I thought you might..."

"Let's go see if we can find him." Guy pushed his chair back and turned off the little work light he'd been using to cast off the room's few shadows. He stood and stretched - it was probably late afternoon already and he'd been tinkering pretty much all day, though he had remembered to stop and eat something at least once since... Well, he'd gotten in at an odd time and napped and... A bit more sleep would probably be good, once Jade had been located. Hopefully the rappig hadn't gone too far. Jade was usually the worst of the lot; he'd gotten very good at slipping out along with the maids who checked in every hour or so to make sure there was plenty of food and water for the herd. 

"Actually..." Guy glanced around the room once, but there were no tell-tale ears in sight. Jade was one of the friendliest of the bunch, anyway, and probably would have been butting his head against Guy's legs before long. "No, I think we're clear in here."

"I just came on-shift and did my count," the maid said as Guy followed her out of his suite. " One short, and it's definitely Jade. And Tamra - who had last shift - said they'd all been running around so much that she thought she'd counted right but wasn't sure."

"So he's been missing for awhile," Guy surmised. He nodded and inched away from the maid, who politely inched back as well. "I wonder if he went looking for Peony."

"Tamra went to go check the throne room," the maid added with a nod. "That's where he was last time he got out."

They'd made it to the next room down the hall when Tamra came running down the hall. "No luck, Sammy!" she called. 

"Not here, either," Sammy replied. Guy shook his head and tried to think about where Peony had said he'd be for at least part of the day. In between getting in and giving a brief report, he'd been dragged to dinner and then into the closest guestroom for what had most definitely not been rest. Peony had, afterward, rambled off his schedule, and mentioned that Jade would be back soon, too... And then Guy had fallen asleep for a few hours before beginning his tinkering.

"I think I might know where he is!" Guy simply gestured for the maids to follow him as he bounded off towards the room he and Peony had spent part of the night in. 

Sure enough, Jade was in there. He'd climbed up on the bed, decimating the sheets, and had snuggled up to the pillow that Peony had slept on. Now he was sprawled almost obscenely on his side and all Guy could do was laugh. 

"How did you know?" Tamra questioned. 

"I bet he's been found in here before," Sammy said quickly and firmly. Tamra blinked and then nodded the compliant nod of a servant who didn't need to ask any more questions about something blindly obvious. 

"Of course," she said with a little smile. 

"We'll take him back to the others--"

"I'll take him," Guy interjected before yawning. Jade had the right idea - it really was nap time. "He's grumpy when he wakes up, but he'll probably move for me. You can go."

Sammy and Tamra nodded and bowed before quickly exiting. Guy looked at the door and then at the bed. At least this Jade wasn't hogging any particular share of the blankets. And no one would disturb him...

Guy closed the door and then went over to grab the covers from the floor - casualties of the rappig trying to climb, likely. Jade barely stirred as Guy flopped on the bed. 

"Only because you are cranky in the mornings, unlike your counterpart, who seems to wake up completely ready to snark at the day," Guy commented. "Also, he smells better. Most of the time."

He closed his eyes for a minute. This was ridiculous, but...

When he opened his eyes, the room was much dimmer and he wasn't looking at a rappig's stomach. Instead, Peony was there, reading. 

"When did--?"

Peony just chuckled and then leaned to give Guy a quick kiss. 

"Not long ago, and purely on accident. But--" He gestured down to where Jade had relocated across his calves. "-- I'm apparently never leaving."

Guy yawned and stretched. "He escaped again. I... Well, you can imagine."

Smiling, Peony reached down to pat Jade's head. "He must've been lonely. You'll have to spend more time with him."

Trying not to wince at the sheer incompatibility of his tiny mechanical projects and Peony's rambunctious rappigs, Guy nodded. And yawned again. 

"I'll be here when you wake up," Peony added. 

At some point, Jade shoved himself up between the two of them and Guy was far too happy being asleep to complain. 

Sudden light, though, jerked him free of the half-awake haze he'd been in since one of Jade's ears had tickled his face. 

"This is not, actually, what I meant when I said to feel free to start without me."

"Jade..." Peony mumbled. 

Guy didn't manage anything. Jade-the-rappig just sort of snorted and went back to sleep. 

"I'll be in the rappig-free room next door and seeing if I can't erase a bit of my short term memory," Jade added.

"He's just jealous," Peony mumbled as he got to his feet. He gave Jade-the-rappig one last hug and then trundled after Jade. Guy debated for a couple of seconds before following - if nothing else, he could always suggest Jade-the-rappig escaped again. Not that it mattered. The maids wouldn't say anything. Not about one messy guest bed. And certainly, not about another. 

By the time he got to the next room, both men were waiting to pull Guy inside. And, well, this Jade was much nicer to share a bed with, definitely.


End file.
